Burial-vault.



` PATENTED APR. I. A. sTEVENsoN. BURIAL VAULI.

[72 levenson APPLICATION FILED AUG.13.1906.

THEODORE A. STEVENSON, Ol" LANSING, KANSAS.

BURIAL-VAULT'.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 9, 1907'.

Application led August 131906` Serial No. 330.323.

To @Utah/m Lft ntcty/ concern:

soN, a citizen of the United States, residing` at Lansing, vin the county of Leavenworth and State of Kansas, have invented certain t new and useful Improvements in Burial- Vaults, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in burial-vaults; and my 'object is to provide a device of this character for inclosing and preserving the corpse and the casket containing and provided near its ends with cavities 2,

. Fig. 2.

the same from the destructible elements to Which they are subjected when buried in the ground. The vault is arranged to permit the escape of the gases arising from the decomposing body and at the same time exclude water, which is one of the most destructible elements, from the casket.

The invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, liointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same on line II II of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a cross-section online III III of In carrying out the invention I employ a bed-plate 1, consisting', preferably, of cement having shoulders 4 designates a pair of U-shaped standards for supporting the casket 5 a few inches above the bed-plate. The lower terminals of said standards extend downwardly below their transverse portions 6 and are rmly embedded in the bed-plate.

7 designates a case which is open at its bottom ortion and consists of end walls 8, side wal s 9, and a top wall 10. Said case is made, preferably, of metal, and its side and end Walls are reinforced with retainingstrips 11 of V form in cross-section to assist in supporting a coat of cement 12, applied to the case for the purpose of protecting the same from moisture. The case is shorter and narrower than the bed-plate, so that the latter will project beyond the sides and ends thereof and aord a broad foundation therefor.

13 designates-a valve arranged in the top wall'l() and consisting of a tube 14, a leather stri 15, secured to the inner side of the top Wal and a flat spring 16, also secured to the the bed-plate.

inner 'side of the top wall, which normally Be 1t known that I, TnEoDoRE A. S'rEvExholds the free end of the leather stri across the inlet-port 17 of the valve. Tu e 14 is provided with a removable cap 18, which prevents said tube from becoming clogged with foreign matter. 1 9 designates spring-catches secured to the lower portions of the end walls and adapted to enga-ge shoulders designates rings carried by eyebolts 21, secured Ato the upperportions of the end walls.` In practice the bed-plate is lowered to the bottom of the grave. The casket containing the corpse is then lowered until it rests upon the transverse ortions of standards 4. Ito es are then rove t rough rings 20, and the cas et is lowered to the bed-plate, care being taken to have the spring-catches 19 engage shoulders 3. However, as the sidewalls of the case snugly fit the sides of the standards and the latter extend above the top of thel casket th'ey will in a measure serve as guides in directing the case to its proper position upon An air-pump is next connected to the valve, so that air maybe forced into the case under suiiieient pressure to prevent any water which may enter at the oint between the case-and the bed-plate from rising high enough to reach the casket resting upon the standards. The case and eprojecting portion of the bed-plate is then covered with the cement coat 12, which rotects the case and seals the joint between t e same and the bed-plate, or, if desired, said coat may be applied before the case is lowered,inwhich event the rings and the valve would be left exposed until after the case had been placed in position u on the bed-plate.

The joint etween the bottom of thecase and the bed-plate, however, is the weakest part of the vault and will crack and afford an avenue of escape for the powerful gases that will arise from the decomposing body, so that the case will not be ruptured by said gases, but owing to the weight of the case sufcient pressure will remain therein to pre-- vent water fromrising to the casket.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a structure of the character described, in combination, a case open at the bottom and provided with longitudinal reinforcements, and a bed-plate upon which said case i o'o is adapted to rest, said bed-plate being longer and wider than the case so that it will project beyond the sides and ends thereof, and e point above the'easket to forni'guides-foltlie 1o coat of plastic material covering the oase and t case when lowering the saine upon the bedthe projecting portion of the bed-plate,1"or the I plate, substantially as described.

purposeset forth and described. I In testimony whereof Iefx niy signature 2. In a structure of the character described, in the presence of two Witnesses.

a bed-plate, a case openntfthe bottom and f THEODORE A. STEVENSON.

adapted to be placed upon said bed-plate, Witnesses:

and standards for supporting the casket, said F. G.VFisC11En, standards extending from the bed-plate to a WM. A. LINGLER. 

